Aspiring Feminist and Social Science Progressive, 1908–1912

This chapter details events in Josephine Roche's life from 1908 to 1912. Shortly after graduating from Vassar, Roche pursued graduate study at Columbia University in New York City. Her courses and life experiences in New York built directly on the foundation laid by her undergraduate education. Her studies deepened her understanding of the social sciences and gave her feminism more specific shape as she sought explanations for prostitution and what scholars would later call the “gender wage gap.” The longing to be part of the rough and tumble of electoral politics perhaps also gave greater urgency to Roche's work for women's suffrage in New York. On behalf of the cause, she made speeches on street corners, marched in parades, and organized debates at Greenwich House.